Egypt extends state of emergency in Sinai

CAIRO: Egypt announced on Saturday it was extending for three months a state of emergency in parts of the restive Sinai Peninsula following a spate of attacks claimed by Jihadists.
The decision was taken by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and comes into force on Sunday, a statement from the presidency said. A state of emergency was originally declared in parts of the peninsula following the death of 30 soldiers in an attack last October close to the town of El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai.
The army has sent troops and armour to fight a dogged insurgency in the Sinai that has grown since then army chief Sisi ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Mursi in 2013.
Jihadist organisation Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, says attacks on the security forces are in retaliation for a government crackdown on Mursi’s supporters that has left hundreds dead.